• Set the date for your event. Think about the weather and the best time of year.  Check the local press for any clashes or similar events.  Allow plenty of time to plan your event.

• Find a suitable venue. If your event is too big to hold in your workplace/school, then consider community centres and sport centres.

• Set yourself a target and a budget.  We suggest you aim to raise at least 3 times what you spend to make it worthwhile.  Try and get sponsors for as much as you can to keep costs to a minimum.  If you can’t get one sponsor for the whole event, try and get individual sponsors for various parts of your event such as tickets, posters, food, drink, raffle prizes etc. 

• Set up a fundraising group – the more people you have the more skills and contacts you will get.  Plus, fundraising with friends is more fun!

• Set up an on-line fundraising page on justgiving.com.  It’s safe and easy to use and justgiving automatically claim gift-aid on donations.  You can add your own photos & messages and your sponsors can send you messages too!  To set up your page go to www.justgiving.com/velindre

• Send an article and photo to your local newspaper/radio station and ask for publicity and/or appeal for sponsorship. Make sure you’ve included details of how people can sponsor you such as your justgiving link.

• Get a high sponsor on the top of your sponsor form (on justgiving and paper forms) as this will set the price and others will follow suit – even sponsor yourself! 

•  Always ask your sponsors if they are tax payers and if so, ask them to tick the Gift Aid it box on the sponsor form and include their full name and home address. This allows us to claim Gift Aid, which will increase the value of the donation by 28 per cent at no extra cost to your sponsor.

• Ask your company if they operate a match-funding scheme (many companies do) as this could double your fundraising efforts!

But be aware!...

• If you are organising your own event i.e  not part of another event or organised by a 3^rd party, there will be no public liability insurance cover in place so we strongly advise you to take out your own insurance for your event. 

• Do not collect on private property such as shops and pubs without getting prior permission from the owner.

• Do not collect in or outside a public place or go around houses without getting a licence from the local authority. 

• Before conducting a raffle or lottery read these raffle and lottery guidelines.